2009 BMW Concept ActiveE
BMW doesn’t actually have a vehicle with zero emissions in its current lineup but that hasn’t stopped the automaker from touting its cleanliness with advertising promoting its Concept ActiveE all-electric vehicle, where the slogan is: "Thanks to its electrifying performance and zero CO2 emissions when driving, the ActiveE redefines BMW EfficientDynamics."
BMW has since been ban in the UK from making such a claim, however, the problem does not lie in the fact that BMW doesn’t currently sell any electric vehicles but because the claim is actually not entirely true.
The falsity of the claim is that since the Concept ActiveE runs on electric power originally generated from burning fossil fuels, it doesn’t actually emit zero emissions.
BMW’s response is that the headline claim of zero emissions was supported by the part of the statement that says “when driving”. However, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that the statement is still misleading and the ads cannot be shown in their current form.
Incidentally, just last week, BMW was also chastised for an ad that claimed its Z4 Roadster had low levels of emissions. The issue here was that readers of the ad would believe the Z4 Roadster had low emissions compared to all cars currently on sale, which isn’t the case.
